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The one on the right looks like the latest colors. What did that animal run you? The one on the left is a Goliath? Same manufacturer?

Same retailer, different manufacturer. The Mirage is made by Elliot kites. Price was probably $25-30 less when I picked it up a few years ago. Not a terrible hike as one or two kites have jumped over $60 dollars in the past year. I have already kicked myself repeatedly for procrastinating on one of them.

On the pricing, I expect a good deal of the pricing on the Mirage is due to the framing... which is substantial. The nocks look like they belong on a camera tripod rather than a kite.

I know they have lots of pull but I certainly wouldn't use it specifically for power kiting. Maybe that's what Tataouine means?

Yes, the Mirage is sold as "Powerkite" but it don't pulls very much.

If pull is what you seek then look into a parafoil(IE:HQ Beamer). Depending on experience,height and weight though, start off small. Either 2 or 3 meter. That should get you pulled around pretty good. Be careful!!

The one on the right looks like the latest colors. What did that animal run you? The one on the left is a Goliath? Same manufacturer?

Same retailer, different manufacturer. The Mirage is made by Elliot kites. Price was probably $25-30 less when I picked it up a few years ago. Not a terrible hike as one or two kites have jumped over $60 dollars in the past year. I have already kicked myself repeatedly for procrastinating on one of them.

On the pricing, I expect a good deal of the pricing on the Mirage is due to the framing... which is substantial. The nocks look like they belong on a camera tripod rather than a kite.

Pretty sure you can use the battens as chopsticks in a pinch.

ATB,Sam

Not knowing price you paid kinda tough to compare to the 325.00 I'm seeing so far. Thinking I like the kite and all but WOW.

Not knowing price you paid kinda tough to compare to the 325.00 I'm seeing so far. Thinking I like the kite and all but WOW.

Sorry.... I wasn't being evasive for the heck of it.... we were just skittering towards the edge of the forum posting rules/ettiquette/whatever discussing comparative pricing on a kite that was both through another retailer.

Check your PMs for a response that doesn't require a box tops or a decoder ring.

Wondering if there were any specifics on the "re-adjustments." It's possible that I avoided some of them due to personal preferences and general weirdness on my part.

Some general thoughts.

The battens are held in by velcro straps (similar to how the spine is held in most dual line kites). You generally cinch these in fairly tight. If you let the velcro load up with sand, leaf particles, general debris, I can see where this might be a problem until you clean the velcro. I have other kites where the battens go into a pocket and then lock into the leech line (the battens have mini-nocks on one end), and I actually kind of like that method.

The XL is a high aspect kite (read lots of leverage and fairly heavy. Bringing it down on one wing tip at speed would probably result in the following equation: Mass x Acceleration = <* Crunch *>

The wing-tip tension line is kind of thin and not particularly grippy. I can see where some slippage might occur here. Honestly, as a result of preventative paranoia this was never an issue for me.

On the Mirage, the nocks are formed of medium hard rubber. If you took the letter "U", extruded it, and drilled holes in the flat sides, it's pretty much what you would get.

The side holes are where you would snake the wing tip tension line through. Due to the snug fit, this kind of means removing the nocks each time you disassemble the kite. I was a little... <* whatever you are when you spend a lot of time furrowing your forehead *> about this arrangement. Partially due the amount of fiddling required and I wondered if the thin tension line would cut into the nock. Sooooo.... I took some 170# bridle line and made an loop that I tied a few pigtails in. I fed this through the side of the nock and larks head it to the lower leading edge. This is what the tension line is attached to and the nocks remain in place during assembly amd disassembly.

It's possible that the tension line locks in and slips less on the bridle line than the spar. The pig-tailed bridle line is at full extension and has no place left to go, so no slippage there.

I can't confirm if there are any issues with the original arrangement.... I tweaked it because it bothered me for no overly tangible reason. I am just weird about some things like that.

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